HICKORY, N.C.,None — Search warrants in the investigation into Zahra Baker's disappearance and death reveal disturbing information, including allegations of sexual abuse.
Search Warrant #1: Elisa Baker Details Dismemberment Of Zahra (PDF)
Search Warrant #2: Details The Alleged Rape Of Zahra (PDF)
VIDEO: Warrants Reveal Disturbing Information In Zahra Case
Investigators searched a home in Hildebran after receiving information from an informant that 10-year-old Zahra may have been raped there, according to the warrants. The documents allege that two men raped the girl and that one of those men had a relationship with Elisa Baker, Zahra's stepmother.
Sheriff investigators in Burke County found a mattress with a dark stain on it lying on the ground at the home, which is located on County Line Road, the warrants say. They then turned that information over to Hickory police.
The warrants also say that a polygraph test done on Elisa Baker showed deception when police asked whether she hurt Zahra. The test also showed deception when investigators asked if Elisa Baker knew if anyone had done harm to Zahra and whether she knew who wrote the ransom note that was found the day Zahra was reported missing.
Search warrants in the investigation into Zahra's disappearance and death were made public Tuesday.
The District Attorney's Office filed a motion Monday to keep the documents from becoming public just as they were about to be unsealed. Unsealing the warrants would undermine or jeopardize the state's right to prosecute a defendant, the motion claimed.
Despite that, the documents were unsealed late Tuesday afternoon.
There are a total of 11 search warrants, consisting of about 100 pages, in the case. In one, police said they received conflicting information from Elisa Baker and Adam Baker, Zahra's father, at the beginning of the investigation. Elisa Baker said the family went to an Octoberfest celebration the night before Zahra was reported missing, but Adam Baker said he hadn't seen his daughter since the Wednesday before that.
The warrants also say that key evidence was disposed of in Dumpsters in the Hickory and Granite Falls areas and that searchers went through the Bakers' Hickory home in search of bags that were possibly used to dispose of the girl's body.
SLIDESHOW: A Look Inside Zahra's Home
The warrants also mention searches involving phone records and Elisa Baker's MySpace account, as well as numerous reports made to the Department of Social Services regarding alleged abuse of Elisa Baker's biological children and a report of physical abuse to Zahra.
No one has been charged in Zahra's death or disappearance. She was reported missing on Oct. 9, and more than a month later, remains that police believe are hers were found in a rural area of Caldwell County. Investigators are still awaiting the results of DNA and forensic testing on the remains and other evidence in the case.
Elisa Baker remains in jail on an obstruction of justice charge after police said she admitted to writing a fake ransom note regarding another child the day that Zahra was reported missing.
WSOC
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